Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters at AGO

Where: AGOWhen: September 30, 2017 – January 7, 2018Cost: Timed-entry tickets go on sale to the public on Sept. 15, 2017 and are $16.50 for post-secondary students and youth ages 17 and under, $21.50 for seniors and $25 for adults. Tickets will be available online at www.ago.ca, in person and by phone. Admission is free for AGO Members and for children five and under. AGO Members have access to an exclusive preview before the exhibition opens to the public.

Details: This September, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is home to the only Canadian stop of an exhibition that offers a rare glimpse into the creative process of famed and fascinating filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Organized by the AGO in partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters explores the creative mind of del Toro and his love of monsters of all kinds, with objects including sculpture, paintings, prints, photography, costumes, ancient artifacts, books, maquettes and film, all organized in eight thematic sections.

The exhibition features approximately 4,150 objects, including:
– over 450 items del Toro accumulated over many years, usually contained in Bleak House;
– 95 items from the AGO, Toronto artists, collectors and industry colleagues of del Toro;
– over 1,600 comics on loan from local comic retailer The Beguiling; and
– over 2,000 rarely seen books from the AGO’s historic Grange House library.

Some of the highlights include:
– life-sized figures of del Toro’s most visually striking monsters, such as The Faun and Pale Man (Pan’s Labyrinth), the Angel of Death (Hellboy II: The Golden Army) and Santi’s Ghost (The Devil’s Backbone);
– eleven silicone figures of characters from films and real life, some commissioned by del Toro specifically for the AGO exhibition;
– reproductions of over 700 different book covers for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, along with over 100 different copies of the book itself, sourced by curator Jim Shedden and which are unique to the AGO’s presentation of the exhibition;
– gallery design and decor that simulates the ambience of the original Bleak House;
– an original musical experience featuring music from del Toro’s films and 19th century composers, performed live during Gallery hours by several local pianists;
– two free audio tracks available for download on your smartphone or tablet: one featuring del Toro himself speaking on several exhibition highlights, and one with an atmospheric score composed by Gustavo Santaolalla specifically for At Home with Monsters.